Tag Archives: Blackberry PlayBook

We’d heard back in April that RIM, the manufacturer of the BlackBerry smartphones including the Bold Touch 9900, Bold 9790 and Curve 9360 as well as the Playbook tablet - had planned a new round of employee layoffs, this in addition to the 2,000 employees who have already lost their jobs this year.

Ironically, the new layoffs have begun almost one year to the day that The Waterloo Record reported last year’s RIM layoffs that were necessary to cut costs. In this new round, RIM plans to lay off at least 10% of its global workforce.

RIM is pinning most of its hopes for a future on the BlackBerry 10 smartphone, but until that phone is on the market, RIM’s sales are going to continue to languish. In a recent interview with The Waterloo Record, a RIM spokesperson revealed this: “RIM has committed to achieving significant efficiencies and operating cost reductions over the course of this fiscal year. Our financial target is to drive at least $1 billion in savings by the end of fiscal 2013. Headcount reductions are part of this initiative.”

Rim’s spokesperson said the current round of job reductions could see as many as 6,000 cuts as RIM tries to achieve $1 billion in savings by the end of fiscal 2013.

RIM has launched the latest beta of BlackBerry PlayBook OS and made it available to developers. Version 2.1.0 targets enhancements in the platform’s Android runtime, and includes other upgrades.

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The latest version of the OS is designed to help bring Android apps to RIM’s tablet a lot easier, including allowing the apps to access PlayBook features like the device's camera hardware and the ability to run in their own window.

Developers can now also equip in-app purchases, with RIM handing Android developers access to the BlackBerry Payments SDK.

The update also includes portrait support for the Email, Calendar and Contacts apps, along with full device encryption, screenshots saved in the PNG format, and improved email folder support, including IMAP folder support.

The company claims the 2.1 Android SDK will be released in full when the whole platform update hits commercial devices. RIM says consumers will soon be getting the Playbook’s new OS.

RIM finally made its commitment to the release of a beta version of its 2.1 PlayBook OS official. BlackBerry PlayBook product manager Michael Clewley confirmed from his Twitter page that a beta would be out by the end of May.

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There haven’t been any details made available, so until you get your hands on the 2.1 beta, you’ll know just as much as the rest of us. If you’re signed up as a BlackBerry developer, you can get the update on your device after its release.

During the Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung announced that the company was working on merging its Bada mobile operating system with the open-source Tizen operating system.

Samsung is currently the second-largest cellphone maker in the world, with devices powered by four major operating systems. By focusing on its own operating system, Samsung has more control over its devices and a greater opportunity to differentiate its products from its competitors. By merging the two operating systems, Samsung is hoping that existing Bada developers will transition to Tizen.

While still in development, the Tizen operating system is open-source and backed by Intel and the Linux Foundation. When the Bada integration is complete, Tizen will support programs written with Samsung’s Bada SDK, including both new and previously published apps.

Tizen, according to reports, features a program called Application Compatibility Layer (ACL), which enables the device to run applications built using different code. ACL is similar to RIM’s Android player for its BlackBerry PlayBook.

A new video has been released that demonstrates the Samsung/Intel-backed Tizen OS running Android apps.

Open Mobile, the company behind ACL, claims Android apps will be able to run on a Tizen-powered device with 100% compatibility, and stated that ACL features the same level of responsiveness users would expect on a device that runs on Android OS. The company would also like to make sure that the ACL will be integrated into smartphones and tablets by vendors and not end users.

As usual, there probably will be a few bugs to be worked out in the field, but all indicators are that Tizen is a well-designed and truly open source alternative to Google's Android.

At the company’s annual conference this week RIM’s new CEO Thorsten Heins officially confirmed the launch of a Blackberry PlayBook 4G LTE planned for later this year.

According to a report from Canadian Reviewer, the new tablet will be equipped with a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor and a near-field communication chip. The article also indicated that the new tablet will support HTML 5 and Adobe Flash. It look similar to the current BlackBerry PlayBook.

RIM has some making up to do with its market since the PlayBook has been a sore point for RIM since its launch in May 2011. Its sales have slow and reviews are lukewarm. RIM is trying to improve things. An update in February added new features such as a native e-mail client and additional ways for interaction between the BlackBerry phone and the PlayBook tablet.

RIM’s 4G LTE PlayBook could be a way to challenge Apple tablet, such as the iPad 2, and iPad 3 hold on the enterprise market. This is one market that RIM has been doing well.

The following is a complete specification list for the BlackBerry Playbook 4G LTE

Is 2012 the year of Research In Motion? Last year was rough for the once mighty smartphone and tablet OS company, but with its recent CES recognition for the impressive QNX car technology and now the PlayBook 2.0 something tangible to review, RIM may have some more blue skies in its futures. View this interesting video for more insight on Blackberry's PlayBook 2.0

According to recent reports, the PlayBook 2.0 will be available in February and will make the tablet actually functional again. How? Top of the list is that native email and calendar are now included and the company has caught up with the times and integrated social media networking (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc) and all of your friends posts and activities can be viewed in the Contacts Hub.

Next, the keyboard has been drastically revamped to incorporate autocorrect and algorithmic predictive typing. That will adapt to your typing style and suggests its guess of your next typed word. Surprisingly, this tablet does feature Android apps in its App World and reviews indicate that they run as smoothly as native code.

In fact, Alec Saunders, the VP of Developer Relations, has hinted at RIM learning its mistakes from its initial PlayBook launch and are humbly making changes to bring a competitive product to market that will allow for innovation with developers, tech accessories, and other peripheral technology. This attitude change has brought valuable partnerships with EA Games and Rovio and will create a compelling story for customers.

Added incentive for investing in RIM and the PlayBook upon its release in 2012 is its competitive pricing. At $299 it may very well be the contender it was created to be in a market dominated by Apple and to a lesser degree Android. As more news is released on the upcoming launch, we will keep you posted on whether the body has changed drastically enough to require new protective cases purchases and how current PlayBook customers will be able to recycle their other existing accessories.

When Research In Motion rolled out its answer to Apple’s iPad, the Blackberry Playbook, a loyal RIM community of customers eagerly awaited the release of the Canadian company’s tablet. While market anticipation was high, sales have shown, that the Blackberry's PlayBook has not stormed the tech world as hoped. In fact, the debut of the BlackBerry tablet seems to have marked a snowball effect of bad news and lost credibility for RIM in 2011. Leaving your valuable mobile devices unprotected is risky! Discover the latest innovative protection solutions... stylish top brand bags, sleeves and cases specifically designed to protect your devices from scratches and blemishes. Tough on the outside, sweet on the inside these brand name protection accessories combine complete device coverage with sleek artistic expression.
Before the jailbreak incident, this alternative tablet was poised as promising market success. However, Google’s Android OS based tablets the iPad 2 and iPad 3 took and continues to hold consumer mindset and the lion's share of the market. Apple's breakthrough marketing strategy was the catalyst that actually created the both the tablet market consumer demand. State of the art accessories? Customer driven innovations? Unfortunately, RIM marketing campaign for the Blackberry PlayBook was not revolutionary enough for a discerning public. The bottom line of this failure in mediocrity was a $485 million loss in the third quarter of 2011 due to the PlayBook's sluggish sales. Let our trend setting fashionable cases and skin accessories express your unique style. Make your mobile devices stand out. Customize your look - how cool can you be?

Throughout the holiday season mobile retailers and device manufacturers alike look to close out the year’s sales strong. Research In Motion was no different except that they started aggressively dropping prices in an attempt to clear out the excess inventory. These discounts did appear to help both RIM’s and their distribution partners move units of the QNX based tablet. Enhance your mobility and turn your device into a power tool! Discover select accessories such as; stylus & pens, micro SD memory cards, batteries, docking stations, Bluetooth headsets, data cables and glider gloves all specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich.

With any luck, RIM can recoup some losses, move the tablets, and start out the new year on a higher note. To kick off these goals, they are making all three of their PlayBook models for $299. That is an outrageously steep $400 discount off the 64GB version. In addition to these discounts, the company would be smart to pair it with promoting the accompanying tablet accessories.

If they can successfully lure in customers, upsell accessories and spin a silver lining around the cloudy RIM brand with the upcoming update... which is slated native email among other great improvements, the PlayBook and RIM can learn from 2011’s mistakes and launch itself back into an increasingly competitive market in an effort to carve out a niche.

School districts received a number of grants to purchase tablets to increase interactive learning and pique student interest and raise productivity. Faced with the decision of choosing a tablet, educational institutions are investigating and evaluating the benefits and shortcomings of various mobile tablets and tablet accessories available on the market.

Some of the many benefits are: physical size, applications, streamlined user-friendly features. However, the vast majority of these tablets don't come equipped with CD/ DVD ROMs or USB ports that are traditional means of backup for the typical user. It appears that Acer had these limitations in mind when it quietly developed and introduced the Acer A500. This is a consumer centric honeycomb product that is not only affordable but also includes full-size USB ports and is cost effective. Discover the latest innovative protective tablet solutions and premium electronic tablet accessories.

The new Acer A500 model boasts a 10.1 inch screen with a full gigabyte of RAM and an option of 16 or 32 gigabyte internal storage. The 2 megapixel front facing camera and an 3260mAh battery holding an 8 hour charge; coupled with a USB port and microSD card option for 32GB external storage for the pragmatic user. Other tablet showcases more impressive technical specs, but it all comes down to the customer needs.

This is indeed a pragmatic option (not necessarily aesthetically appealing one at 12mm thick), the specs of this Acer tablet make it a contender as an entry-level purchase. For those customers drawn to a tablet’s « look » and flashier features, they may want to consider the Blackberry PlayBook or Apple iPad or the Samsung Galaxy offerings.

For the Android fans out there, this tablet is slated to launch with Honeycomb but will be upgraded to Android 4.0 soon after its release. The roadmap as of now is unclear, but would make a lovely and practical addition to any consumer’s Android family of products.

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